PRLog - May 1, 2012 - ST. LOUIS -- ST. LOUIS, MO, May 1 , 2012 – The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will host its quarterly “Conversations” Series sponsored by Boeing on Thursday, May 10, 2012 from 5:15 – 7:00 p.m. at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Road. The program will feature Douglas Ladd, Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri and Dr. James C. Carrington, President, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center who will discuss sustainable solutions to support a growing global population while preserving and improving the environment.

Conservation methods and the use of technology for model plants and crops, can improve biodiversity and the balance between agriculture and environmental stewardship. Challenges from climate change, an expanding population and limited environmental resources has created a need for emerging technologies with conservation approaches.

The panel will highlight how technology will play an impactful role for nature and restoring the environment.

To join us for an enlightening discussion, reserve your spot today! Reservations are required but complimentary; seating is limited and priority will be given to Center Friends. To attend, please phone: 314-587-1070 or email: conversations@danforthcenter.org or reserve online.

About the SpeakersDouglas Ladd, Director of Conservation Science, The Nature Conservancy in MissouriMr. Ladd has worked in conservation for over 30 years, and is well known throughout the United States as an accomplished conservation biologist and botanist. His mentorship has guided the careers of countless others in the natural areas fields and his leadership has shaped conservation perspectives and methods across the Midwest. Doug has been involved with fire management, fire ecology, conservation planning, natural area assessment, and ecological management, restoration and research. His recent work has concentrated on ecoregional conservation planning, vegetation and fire ecology of Midwestern prairies and woodlands, and the development of assessment and ecological monitoring protocols for terrestrial vegetation.

Doug has undergraduate degrees in botany and chemistry, and a master’s degree in botany from Southern Illinois University, where his thesis research was conducted under Dr. Robert Mohlenbrock on the flora and vegetation of north-central Vermont. In addition to numerous articles and reports, he is the author of two plant field guides, North Woods Wildflowers and Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, and coauthor of Discover Natural Missouri and Distribution of Illinois Vascular Plants. He is a research associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, and the Conservation Research Institute and Morton Arboretum in Chicago.

Before joining the Danforth Center, Dr. Carrington was at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he served as the Director of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, the Stewart Professor for Gene Research, and Distinguished Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology.

Carrington received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside in 1982 and his doctorate in Plant Pathology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. He later began his career as a professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University, where he stayed for nine years. Carrington also served on the faculty at Washington State University before his tenure at OSU.

His awards include the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and the Ruth Allen Award from the American Society for Phytopathology. Among many accolades, he has been elected a Member of the National Academies of Science and Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science CenterFounded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center scientists, news, education outreach and “Roots & Shoots” blog help keep visitors up to date with Center’s current operations and areas of research. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.